In May 2000 Prince dropped the symbol O(+> he adopted as a name. He had used the symbol because he considered his record contract with Warner Bros. Records oppressive, which ended in 2000.

[16 October 1996]. Son, with Mayte Garcia, born with the rare skull disease Pfeiffer's syndrome and unable to breathe without a ventilator. The child was taken off life support on 23 October and died.

Has dated several famous women before settling down: Kim Basinger, Sherilyn Fenn, Apollonia Kotero and Sheena Easton, to name a few.

Son of jazz pianist John L. Nelson.

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March 2004.

He was voted the 28th greatest Rock & Roll Artist of all time by "Rolling Stone" magazine.

Did the music for the movie Girl 6 (1996) as Prince. It was the only time he referred to himself as Prince from 1993 to 2000.

The symbol he used as his name was also the name of his last Warner Bros. album as Prince, which was released just a few months before his name change. He recorded as Prince since then on his independently distributed, self-released albums and those licensed to Arista/BMG Records and Columbia/SME Records.

One of the very few musicians who writes, produces and composes all his music himself. On most of his albums, he plays all the instruments himself, except for brass instruments, which he does not play, though he does have a backing band for concerts. His songwriting skills have provided hits for others such as Chaka Khan, Sinéad O'Connor and Jordan Knight.

During the filming of Purple Rain (1984), he was told one day by director Albert Magnoli that the film needed a montage song that dealt heavily on emotions. Prince responded with two songs the very next morning, written, produced and recorded. One of the songs was the smash hit "When Doves Cry".

His 1984 album "Purple Rain" sold 13 million copies in the United States.

Was to duet with Michael Jackson on his album "Bad", but could not decide on the words to the song.

Winner of the 1993 Brit Award for International Solo Artist.

Winner of the 1992 Brit Award for International Solo Artist.

Arrived an hour late to the 2007 Golden Globe Awards due to traffic and missed accepting the Golden Globe for Best Song for movie "Happy Feet". Justin Timberlake accepted the award for him after an awkward silence waiting for Prince to come on stage. He did so in an amusing fashion by crouching down to a shorter height and raising his voice to accept the award for Prince. Hugh Grant later announced Prince had finally arrived after being stuck in gridlock traffic, and gave Prince an opportunity to stand and receive applause for his win.

Known as "Gazoo" in school because of his huge Afro and small body. Gazoo was the flying space guy in the Fintstones cartoon show with the giant head covered by a space helmet.

Ranked #18 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll.

Wrote a song for his friend, actress Jackie Swanson, entitled "Palomino Pleasure Ride".

Held a press conference to announce his intention to perform 21 shows in London. (8 May 2007).

Thrilled his hometown fans by performing three shows over twelve hours, only stopping when police shut him down. The Minneapolis native first performed at a department store to promote his new cologne, cramming nine songs into a 45-minute set. He then played that night at the Target Center arena. He capped the night with a return to First Avenue, the club he made famous in the movie Purple Rain (1984). Minnesota's governor and the Minneapolis mayor issued proclamations honoring Prince, and fans flew in from all over the country to see the performer. After the Target Center, Prince waited until nearly 2:45 a.m. before starting the First Avenue show, the first time he had played at the club since 1987. The city lets music play until 4 a.m. He was 15 songs and 70 minutes into a 24-song set when he announced from the stage: "The authorities say we gotta go. We always listen to the authorities. I promise I'll be back." (7 July 2007).

Shares a great interest in silent-screen star Clara Bow with friend and former girlfriend Sherilyn Fenn.